Hong Kong mother ‘crying, begging’ after hospital separates her from 11-month-old baby who has Covid-19
- City’s hospitals struggling for space with patient influx. Couple told their baby cannot be discharged until testing negative seven days later
- Woman says she asked for a test, hoping to be found positive so she can move in with her child, but was told she had to go to a government facility to be screened
A Hong Kong mother has described being left “crying and hysterical” after authorities separated her from her 11-month-old baby who tested positive for Covid-19 in hospital, as health care facilities struggle to cope with a sharp influx of patients.
The 32-year-old communications professional, who asked to be referred by her first name Laura, said her daughter developed a cough, fever and difficulty breathing on Sunday.
After consulting their private doctor via video conferencing on Monday morning, the parents were advised to take their daughter to hospital, she said. The baby was admitted to Queen Mary Hospital where Laura sat with her in an isolation room for 10 hours, while her husband remained in the hallway, the mother added.
The baby was then moved into an intensive care unit for monitoring, and a doctor told the couple the hospital was at capacity and did not have the space for them to stay with their daughter, according to Laura, who is British.
They said they would wait in the corridor, but were later told by the same doctor they were not allowed to stay given they were close contacts of a confirmed case, she continued.
“I was begging, crying, hysterical and screaming,” Laura said. “I had a bit of a breakdown. This is so inhumane. I cannot leave her. She is 11 months old. I’ve never left her. It’s so traumatic for us.”
After the couple waited outside the intensive care unit until 1am on Tuesday, the doctor told them that security would be called in and the matter would be escalated to police if they did not leave, according to Laura.
